Perfect
by elementneko
Summary: Ino hides behind a mask of perfection but let's it fall off with Gaara, and in the end, he needs her as much as she needs him. R&R


He knew he couldn't love.

She knew she shouldn't love him.

But he did. She did. And it was all a beautiful accident.

They were just two strangers in the same town, nothing similar except that place, that _one place_. Neither knew what was so special about it, only that it was. It was a place they didn't have to be who they were expected to be. It was comfortable – too comfortable.

It was a place where the air was sweet and the grass and the trees never seemed to stop swaying, no matter how slight. It was a place they both came every evening, though he usually stayed later because he did not sleep. He would go to watch the lights of the far-off city without anybody near. She would go to get away from where she had to be perfect.

The walk there was the same for them both; they both let go of their facades and let themselves be who they were. He was tired and alone and so was she.

He would climb to his familiar place and let out a soft sigh as he sat down, letting the quiet sink in. She would walk with normality until she reached her place where she would let her smile slip away, only bothering to keep the tears away. They were too ugly for her beautiful face.

It would be hard, but she would manage it. If she could manage to be perfect for everyone, she could at least manage to keep the water from her face.

But through all the lies and the faux-perfection, it slipped. She walked as fast as she could to her place and let her mask shatter. Tears fell like bullets and she let herself finally let go completely; becoming someone no one would ever know.

At least, she thought no one would ever know.

But he was there, then, as he often was. He heard every sound she made, every choked sob and her labored breathing. He had been hesitant to go look, but he couldn't lose his place, he wouldn't. It was the only place where it felt alright to be alone, where it felt alright to just _be_. So he went to her. And what he saw surprised him.

He had seen this girl before, with her long blonde hair and blue, _blue_ eyes. He would pass the local flower shop to get to his place and she was always there with her bright smile and shining eyes that he was always so envious of. He envied everyone who shined with the happiness he could never have. But she wasn't shining with happiness now; she was shadowed with sorrow and sadness.

_Loneliness_.

He felt his chest constrict and a moment of helplessness flooded through him, not knowing what to do. But he just swallowed and awkwardly walked to her and knelt.

Ino had not heard anyone around, too lost in herself to, but once he was closer and bent down to her, she finally looked up startled. The man's sea-green eyes stared into her own blue ones with the same emptiness she felt. Her heart wrenched in her chest, both horrified and comforted that someone felt the way she did. Neither of them said anything for a while, only looking at each other with the same eyes.

"I'm alone, too," he whispered, afraid if he were too loud he would shatter them both and the realness the place gave them_. _Her heart seemed to squeeze and her eyes followed suit, more tears gushing through the clamped eyelids. He took the open display of emotion as acceptance and he fully sat down beside her, letting the girl fall into him.

With every tear she let fall, he felt the same small release as if she were crying for them both. And if he were to think about it now, he'd say she was.

He had held onto her the whole time she cried, and she found comfort in the strangers embrace. By the time the tears finally ceased, the sky had darkened and she pulled away, his arms falling away from her. Ino wiped her reddened eyes and smiled a broken, apologetic smile.

"Sorry about that," she apologized, "I'm never like that-"

"I know."

She paused, conflicted and confused. How did he know? She didn't know him. Realization kicked in and she realized she had seen him before, a few times, actually. He often walked outside of her shop. The few times she would really take notice, she could practically _feel_ the intimidation and coldness roll off of him. But now, being near him like this, in this place, she could only feel his sadness, his _pain_.

"I'm Ino."

He nodded. "Gaara."

The smile she gave this time was still crooked with pain, but it was also sincere – it was different.

Normally he could see her shine with happiness, but the smile she showed him, it held something else, something he couldn't place. All he knew was that it was real, that it was _her_. He liked it. It wasn't the same shine he despised, but a glow he found… beautiful. And absolutely perfect.

The silence that soon surrounded them was comfortable and they were close enough that their arms touched, but it was nice. It gave them both a sense of finally not being alone.

They met the next night in the same place. Soon it just became a habit.

They were still two strangers in their town, but if someone looked close enough they could see the smallest exchange of real smiles, no matter how slight the upturn of the lips. If someone looked close enough they could see, if the two walked by one another, the purposeful brush of the hand, or the sliding of shoulders. They were becoming familiar.

"You make it look so easy," he commented one night as they sat side-by-side.

"It's hard," she confessed, "really, _really_ hard."

"Never try when you're with me."

A real smile. "I wouldn't."

He slipped an arm around her and he thinks that's when he started realizing how his feelings started to change. It was a shock to realize that he even had feelings any more, much less ones that were changing.

Soon she became the main subject he thought about. And she couldn't wait for her shift to end just so she could be herself with him. It was clear that they were falling, and falling fast.

When he would walk passed the shop while she was working, it was hard not to smile at her. And when it would be close to the time she knew he would walk by, she would find herself counting the minutes and it was difficult to stay behind the counter and not run to join him.

Gaara found himself leaving to go to _their_ place earlier than usual, and he tried to tell himself it wasn't so he didn't have to wait as long to finally see her. He would even walk slower by her shop, but he told himself it was just because he didn't want to waste energy.

Ino found herself leaving her shift sooner and sooner, cutting down minutes upon minutes, and soon she changed her hours so she could start sooner to leave earlier. Her friends stopped seeing much of her when she didn't work and she was often questioned or asked to go places with them. Excuses were getting harder and harder to find and she found that her mask was also getting harder and harder to keep up.

Gaara had been waiting almost impatiently when Ino showed up. He was surprised at the earliness of her timing but he remembered how drained she had looked when he peered in through the window. Already he could see that her cheerful mask was cracked and she fell into his arms, tears already starting to stream down her beautiful face.

"I can't do it anymore," she whispered into his shirt, not caring that she was getting it wet. He held her tightly, ignoring his dampening shirt.

"Then don't."

"I have to, they-"

"Don't worrying about them," he interrupted.

She pulled away then and her face was completely exhausted and weary. It wasn't who he expected; even knowing who she really was and it worried him.

"I'm the only they count on!" She meant to shout, to scream, but it came out so weak. "They fall apart, not me." He pulled her back into his arms. "_Not me_."

"No one can be that strong forever, Ino, not even you."

As he held her and comforted her, Gaara realized that he was no longer alone, that this person in his arms _needed_ him, just as much as he needed her.

"But I have to be perfect, I have to-"

"You are perfect," he interrupted again. "You're perfect just by being you, you just don't show them."

She shook her head rapidly and tried pulling away, which he resisted and only held on tighter.

"I'm not, though, I'm falling apart!" Her voice was louder than before and she was crying so hard it frightened her. She was trying so hard not to believe him, but he was the only one who did know her, he was the only one who looked at her like she was_ Ino_, not just the flawless girl everyone knew.  
>He knew her for what she was and it tore at him to hear how pained she was, and how <em>imperfect<em> she thought the real her to be.

He held her at arm's length and looked her very seriously in the eyes, his own pain showing through.

"_Ino_."

His voice was hoarse and tight and his eyes were so pained it hurt to look at them. Ino felt her heart break for him and she threw herself at him, pushing away every doubt she had.

"I am _so_ sorry, Gaara."

And for once, thinking back to all the nights they spent just being with one another and how they were actually _happy_, she did feel perfect. She felt perfect _with him_.

As Ino's sobbing calmed and he felt her relax more, Gaara took a deep breath. "You're perfect."

The blond pulled away shaking her head. Gaara frowned, exasperated that she didn't believe him, only to be confused when he saw her smile.

"No, Gaara, _we're_ perfect."


End file.
